The steady rise of eco-tourism as opposed to the more traditional model is just the tip of an iceberg of a rising service industry geared towards satisfying customer demands to “do the right thing”, according to the owner of Belize’s first eco-resort.

This collection of canvas-roofed tents is located on the grounds of the luxurious Lodge at Chaa Creek, and guests at the camp are welcome to use the lodge facilities, such as the swimming pool. But the tents allow guests to truly feel alone in the jungle. There is no electricity, and after dark, the tents are lit by the glow of flickering gas lamps.

Belize has signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Thursday’s work concentrated on – get ready for it – the Situational Analysis of Children with Disabilities and the Situational Analysis of Blind and Visually Impaired Children.

Ms Fleming started The Lodge at Chaa Creek with her husband Mick after farming what was then a remote parcel of land on the Macal River in Western Belize prior to the country’s independence from Great Britain in September, 1981.

Having been blessed with such rich, fertile land and a Caribbean seacoast teeming with fish and marine life, it was often said that Belizeans may have been poor, but never desperate, as it was almost impossible to starve amid such natural abundance.

Being at the moment on the other side of the world from the Jewel, we don’t get to see Breaking Bad until the day after most viewers do, so it was with even more than the usual anticipation that we waited for it to air. Yes, we’ll to admit to being totally hooked and agree with most of the world that BB is a truly great creation, works on so many levels, blends high art with pop culture, etc.

Apparently, the little hawk found itself in strife when its parents built their nest in someone’s yard on Caye Caulker and the protective parents began attacking people after the chick was born. Perfectly natural behaviour, but not very neighbourly for the humans. Even in the land of “no shoes, no shirts, no worries” bombarding hawks can cause concern.

“I must admit to being surprised when we had a sudden rise in questions about sustainable food sourcing, but it was great to see our guests’ reactions when we explained how we grow or otherwise get ingredients. For example, I hadn’t heard the term ‘locavore’ or much about the local food mile diet movement until several guests mentioned it, and then thought, ‘hey, this is what we do naturally’. I started reading up on it and realised what a healthy trend it is,” she said.

Chaa Creek, one of Belize’s major eco resorts, has received numerous awards for sustainable practices and sponsors a range of environmental initiatives and educational projects. It hosted England’s Prince Harry during his visit to Belize in March of 2012.

While Belize is known as a diver’s paradise (and we’ll get to that later) more and more people are discovering the magic of inland Belize and the lush Cayo District. And why not? Where else can you go, in just a couple hours driving, from seacoast, through broad savannah and rolling green pastures to increasingly deeper bush turning to jungle? Along the way you’ll notice a change from the lilt of coastal Creole to more Spanish speakers. You can even take a hand cranked ferry across the river to Spanish Lookout and hear German spoken in the large Mennonite farming community there.

We couldn’t agree more. Chaa Creek’s own Eco-Kids annual educational summer camp has proven that, given the opportunity, Belize’s young people leap at opportunities, rise to challenges and excel at a wide variety of disciplines. We have a great wealth of as yet untapped talent here in Belize, and initiatives like Girls Fly have the power to motivate young people and inspire them to go on to do extraordinary things.

“To be great, a company must add some sort of positive benefit in the world with its products. Similarly, a company that fails to pay its employees a living wage, or to treat them with care and respect, can never be considered great.

“Who in their right mind would deliberately destroy a structure that was created thousands of years ago, using the most primitive tools to build something of such complexity and beauty? This is a part of not only Belize’s, but the world’s cultural heritage, and it has been demolished for road fill. And in a country where we have no end of suitable material just laying around,” he said.

“As a small developing country, Belize never had a marketing budget to match any of the world’s more popular destinations, which is one of the reasons why the Belize Tourism Board always referred to the country as ‘Mother Nature’s Best Kept Secret’. However, as we see on a daily basis at Chaa Creek, visitors are always taken with the incredible natural beauty and warm, friendly people we’re blessed with, so it was only a matter of time before word got out.”

Located in the north of Belize and visible from the southeastern shore of Ambergris, the country’s largest caye, Hol Chan and Shark-Ray Alley may be Belize’s most popular dive and snorkel spots. Crowds can be problematic, but at a mere 30 meters deep and with Finding Nemo-esque underwater views, the positives outweigh the negatives, especially for diving newbies and snorkelers.

It’s a great time to focus on the good things in life, count our blessings and realise that yes, the Sun reappears every day, the world keeps turning, and humankind continues to reach out, explore and come up with new ideas. No wonder hope never goes out of fashion…